The present invention relates to intrusion detectors for door or window assemblies or the like, and is more particularly directed to an easily installable magnetic switch assembly.
Intrusion detectors for home security are used to sound an alarm or provide other warning signals when a window or door or the like is opened. One common type of intrusion detector is a magnetic switch assembly having two separate constituent pieces. One piece provides a magnetically sensitive switch, such as a reed switch, and the other piece provides a magnet. The magnet is mounted in an edge of the door or window to be protected, and the reed switch is mounted opposite the magnet in the adjacent frame or casing of the door or window. The reed switch is electrically connected by wires or appropriate cabling routed through the walls to control circuitry for the alarm system. When the intrusion detection system is activated and the window or door is opened, movement of the magnet away from the reed switch trips the switch and energizes the alarm.
In known intrusion detectors of this type, the reed switch and the magnet are each typically encapsulated in a generally cylindrical, and sometimes tapered, plastic casing. Each piece is installed by inserting it into a hole pre-drilled in the door or frame, setting the right depth, then sealing it in position, and spackling and painting over it so as to be unnoticeable. Such installation in the past has proven to be cumbersome and labor intensive.
Although it is preferred to hide the cabling for the reed switch by routing it through the walls, in some circumstances it is not possible, or it may be too costly, to do so. In such cases the wires are routed on the surface of the wall generally along the edges at molding strips or at the floor. Reed switches intended to be cabled in this manner are generally referred to as surface-mount reed switches because they may be connected to surface-mounted wires. Known surface-mount reed switches generally have exposed terminals, to which the surface-mounted cabling may be connected once the switch is mounted in the jamb side of the door or window assembly. These terminals or contacts present a security risk because, if left exposed, they may be shorted out to defeat the system, and to cover or disguise the contacts requires additional labor and cost.